Belushi plays bad-tempered San Diego police detective Michael Dooley, who has been tagged for execution by a major international drug dealer named Ken Lyman (played by Kevin Tighe). To help, K-9 Sergeant Brannigan (played by Ed O'Neill) gives Dooley an unorthodox drug-sniffing police dog called "Jerry Lee" (named after rock-and-roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis).[3] The duo attempt to put Lyman behind bars but Dooley quickly learns Jerry Lee is a mischievous smart aleck who works only when and how he wants to. Many of the film's gags revolve around Jerry Lee's playfully destructive episodes.
The film was followed by a K-9 film series, including two direct-to-video sequels, K-911 (1999) and K-9: P.I. (2002); as well as a television spin-off film titled K-9000, that was intended to be the pilot episode to a TV series that was not ordered.
Plot
San Diego Police Detective Michael Dooley leaves his unmarked police car during a nightly stakeout to contact his girlfriend, Tracy, when a helicopter suddenly attacks and destroys the car. At the police station, Dooley confides with his lieutenant, Byers, the attack was likely ordered by Ken Lyman, the drug lord Dooley has been after for two years, but Dooley still insists in working alone, in spite of Byers’ attempts to get him a partner.
Following a tip regarding an informant, Freddie, he spends the night in his personal car. The next morning, Dooley coerces Freddie into revealing that Lyman did order the attack and giving a tip about a warehouse where Lyman’s drugs are, but its large size makes it impossible to find it. After helping out in a tricky drugs bust, Dooley asks his colleague Brannigan to loan him a K-9 to track down the drugs. Brannigan gets Dooley a grouchy veteran German Shepherd named Jerry Lee, capable of tracking down any drugs in a minute.
Dooley and Jerry Lee head to the warehouse where the search is unsuccessful - Jerry Lee initially ignores Dooley's orders, prompting mockery out of the workers, and only a marijuana joint is found when commanded. However, at a pub where Dooley stakes out an intermediary, Benny the Mule, Jerry Lee saves Dooley when his cover is blown. With the dog's help, Dooley subdues Benny and learns the location of Lyman's next shipment, estimated in 50 million dollars. Meanwhile, Lyman kills Freddie and demands his henchman Dillon kill Dooley before the shipment arrives.
At Dooley's apartment, Jerry Lee steals the spotlight after Tracy accepts Dooley's story that he rescued the dog from the streets. The next day, Dooley and Jerry Lee bond when they eat together and spy on Lyman. The two are nearly killed when someone shoots at them, and the two chase the assailant to an empty building. Jerry Lee leads Dooley to the man, who falls to his death after a fistfight with Dooley. In the man's car, Dooley finds a clue that leads him to an auto-dealer shop. There, Jerry Lee identifies a red Mercedes with drugs in it, and Dooley learns that Halstead, the owner of the dealership, works for Lyman. Later, Jerry Lee falls in love with a poodle to the disapproval of its owner.
When Dooley returns home, he discovers Lyman has kidnapped Tracy. Infuriated, Dooley crashes a party at Lyman's mansion prompting him to be arrested his own department, but Dooley informs Byers this was intentional to fool Lyman into rushing the shipment. Byers, however, refuses to play along and takes Dooley in. Using Jerry Lee's flatulence to an advantage, Dooley escapes with the dog. As Dooley tells Jerry Lee how he met Tracy, he spots a truck driven by Halstead that is pulling a trailer with the red Mercedes. Dooley and Jerry Lee chase the truck and arrest Halstead.
Dooley takes the truck to a stranded desert where Lyman, with Tracy hostage in his limo, is waiting. Using his videogame as a fake detonator, Dooley goads Lyman to surrender Tracy or risk the truck exploding and earning the ire of the main buyer, Gilliam. The game blows Dooley’s cover, however, and a shootout ensues where Dooley kills Dillon as Jerry Lee chases Lyman, running for Gilliam’s helicopter. Unable to outrun the dog, Lyman shoots Jerry Lee. Enraged, Dooley shoots at Lyman but Lyman is instead shot and killed by Gilliam’s henchmen. Dooley and Tracy rush Jerry Lee to a hospital, where the reluctant surgeon operates. In the recovery room, Dooley delivers a eulogy to Jerry Lee, unaware he is alive. When the surgeon tells him he is going to be fine, Dooley responds in anger, thinking he was speaking to a dead dog. Jerry Lee licks Dooley's face out of love, making him give in.
Taking a break from police work, Dooley, Tracy, Jerry Lee, and a poodle spend a vacation together in Las Vegas.
The role of "Jerry Lee", though credited in the movie credits as being played by Jerry Lee, was actually played by more than one dog, including backups and stand-ins.[4][5]
Production
Filming
K-9 was filmed in and around the San Diego and San Fernando Valley areas of California from August to October 1988. Locations included the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, and the Golden Hill Cafe in the Golden Hill neighborhood.[6][7]
Written by Barbara Ann Hawkins (as Hawkins), Joe Jones (as Jones), Rosa Lee Hawkins (as Hawkins), Marilyn Jones (as Johnson), Sharon Jones (as Jones) and Jessie Thomas (as Thomas) of The Dixie Cups / Performed by Amy Holland
K-9 was released to home video in early 1990, followed by a DVD release 16 years later, on October 24, 2006. It was re-released along with its sequels in a collection as "K-9: The Patrol Pack" on January 17, 2010.
It was initially released on Blu-ray disc in the U.K. in 2017 by Fabulous Films and then in the United States on May 15, 2018.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, which aggregates both contemporary and modern reviews, the film has an approval rating of 30% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10.[8] On Metacritic it has a score of 44% based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.[10]
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times praised the actors but not the routine plot. Thomas wrote, "It's enjoyable, thanks not only to its charismatic duo, but also to the skilled comedy direction of Rod Daniel."[3]Stephen Holden of The New York Times stated it has "no shred of credibility", yet contains "cutesy, surefire dog tricks" and a "breezy pacing".[11]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film "2 stars".[12] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post complimented Jerry Lee's performance.[13]
K-911 is a 1999 American buddy cop action-comedy sequel film released direct-to-video. It was directed by Charles T. Kanganis and stars James Belushi as Detective Michael Dooley.
K-9: P.I. is a 2002 American buddy cop action-comedy sequel film released direct-to-video. It was directed by Richard J. Lewis and stars James Belushi as Detective Michael Dooley.
K-9000 is a 1991 American science fiction crime action spin-off film released as television film. It was directed by Kim Manners and stars Chris Mulkey as Detective Eddie Monroe.
Red Heat is a 1988 American buddy cop action comedy film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Walter Hill and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Soviet policeman Ivan Danko, and Jim Belushi as Chicago police detective Art Ridzik. Finding themselves on the same case, Danko and Ridzik work as partners to catch a cunning and deadly Georgian drug kingpin, Viktor Rostavili, who killed Danko's previous partner. Most of the scenes set in the Soviet Union were actually shot in Hungary. Schwarzenegger was paid a salary of $8 million for his role in the film.
Matthew Raymond Dillon is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award nomination and Grammy nomination.
PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a holding for their record companies, and was renamed "PolyGram" in 1972. The name was chosen to reflect the Siemens interest Polydor Records and the Philips interest Phonogram Records. The company traced its origins through Deutsche Grammophon back to the inventor of the flat disc gramophone, Emil Berliner.
Andrew Patrick Wood was an American musician who was the lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. He formed Malfunkshun in 1980 with his older brother Kevin Wood on guitar and Regan Hagar on drums. The band used alter ego personas onstage; Wood performed as Landrew the Love Child. Though the band only released two songs before going on an extended hiatus, "With Yo' Heart " and "Stars-n-You", on the Deep Six compilation album, they are often cited as being among the originators of the Seattle grunge movement. While in Malfunkshun, Wood started using drugs, entering rehab in 1985.
M Squad is an American crime drama television series that ran from 1957 to 1960 on NBC. It was produced by Lee Marvin's Latimer Productions and Revue Studios. Its main sponsor was the Pall Mall cigarette brand; Lee Marvin, the program's star, appeared in its commercials during many episodes. Alternate sponsors were General Electric (GE), Hazel Bishop and Bulova watches.
The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live sketches, organized alphabetically by title. The referenced date is the date when the sketch first appeared.
She's Gotta Have It is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Spike Lee. Filmed on a small budget and Lee's first feature-length film to be released, it earned positive reviews and launched Lee's career.
John Castellanos is an American actor best known for the contract role of attorney John Silva on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He joined the cast in May 1989 and has appeared in an estimated 1,300 episodes. He had previously portrayed attorney Jeff Talon on The Bold and the Beautiful in several episodes in 1987.
K-911 is a 1999 American buddy cop comedy film released direct-to-video, a direct-sequel to K-9, and the third installment in the K-9 film series. It was directed by Charles T. Kanganis and stars James Belushi as Detective Michael Dooley.
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution, Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, in the United States. Its predecessors include NBC Enterprises, Universal Television Distribution, Multimedia Entertainment, PolyGram Television, and Sky Vision. At some point in its history, it was also known as "NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution" and "NBC Universal Television and New Media Distribution.” This unit is possibly the parent for the similarly named "NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution" unit.
Wired is a 1989 American biographical film of comedian and actor John Belushi, directed by Larry Peerce. It was based on the 1984 book of the same name by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, and adapted for the screen by Buckaroo Banzai creator Earl Mac Rauch. It stars Michael Chiklis in his film debut as Belushi. Wired was both a critical and a commercial failure. The film has yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray, and the videocassette originally released by International Video Entertainment is out of print.
Chicago P.D. is an American police procedural action drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead and is the second installment of Wolf's Wolf Entertainment's Chicago franchise. The series premiered on NBC as a mid-season replacement on January 8, 2014. The show follows the uniformed patrol officers and the Intelligence Unit of the 21st District of the Chicago Police Department as they pursue the perpetrators of the city's major street offenses.
K-9: P.I. is a 2002 American direct-to-video buddy cop comedy film, directed by Richard J. Lewis and starring James Belushi. The film serves as the fourth and final installment in the K-9 film series; and is the sequel to K-911.
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distributing releases from Polydor Ltd. from the UK.
Koton or Rando was a German Shepherd police dog who played Jerry Lee in the 1989 movie K-9 with James Belushi. He also starred in a short lived TV series of the same name. Prior to being in the movie/TV series, Koton worked for the Kansas City Police Department as a K-9 officer. During his policing career he was responsible for over 24 felony arrests and in October 1991 located 10 kilograms of cocaine worth more than US$1.2 million. On November 18, 1991, Koton was fatally shot while trying to apprehend a suspect in the murder of a police officer.
Patrick Poivey was a French actor. He was primarily known for being a voice actor, having dubbed Bruce Willis's films and series from 1987 until his death.
Shattered Innocence is a 1988 American made for television drama film directed by Sandor Stern and written by Thanet Richard and Sandor Stern. The film stars Jonna Lee, Melinda Dillon, John Pleshette, Kris Kamm, Ben Frank, Dennis Howard, Stephen Schnetzer, Richard Cox and Nadine van der Velde. The film premiered on CBS on March 9, 1988.
The K-9 film series, consists of Buddy cop family-comedy films including one theatrical film, one made-for-television film, and two straight-to-home video films. The general plot centers around a hard-boiled police detectives and the German Shepherd police dogs they have as their respective partner and the cases they work together to solve; with the spin-off TV movie, which was initially developed as a pilot episode for a television series before it was passed on, revolves around a police detective who is teamed up with a mechanically enhanced German Shepperd to solve a criminal investigation.
The tenth season of the American police procedural television series Chicago P.D. premiered on September 21, 2022, on NBC, for the 2022–23 television season. The season concluded on May 24, 2023. The season contained 22 episodes.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
